Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.- Christopher McCandless
- Grevellia, Magarpatta City
It was 06:30 AM, 07-feb-2009, I was ready, my bike was ready and my bag was heavy. Met Sachin and Mamta, my fellow Back Benchers, at the Grevellia gate. With our bikes, we were waiting for the autos to transport them to Pune University, the starting point of Enduro the Adventure Race.
I was feeling good, exuberant and the adrenaline was all set to rush. We knew what we were going to experience in the next 2 days was going to immense pain, fatigue, struggle and survival.
It was around 07:30AM, when we reached the university ground, where already a lot of teams had arrived. The scene was awesome. Participating in such a huge race, everyone dressed in the racing gear accompanying all were their mountain bikes, I felt so good. We had a live performance by the Rock Band Silver. Apart from that we had some great music, and lot of fun going on at the ground.
Got ourselves registered, got the Enduro gear, the ponchos, the maps, the routes. Met Amar’s team – the Roadies – Amar, Suraj and Deepika.
- Flag Off Pune University - TC1- Chandni Chowk
The time we were waiting for had come. We had the flag off at 09:30 AM. The first Time Control point was Chandni Chowk, Pune.
Saw a whole lot of drama right in this first initial leg. There were a few bikes colliding, tires bursting, people falling off their bikes etc. Driving the bikes in the midst of the terrible Pune traffic was crazy. But the good thing is, I was feeling really good with my Bike. I felt I was in total control, and my leg muscles were doing well. Anyways, we reached the TC point, got the time stamped on our TC cards. Unexpectedly, Mamta and I could see few signs of fatigue on Sachin’s face. Anyways, this was just the start, so we kept our fingers crossed.
As we headed towards the Table Top, Sachin slipped while driving his bike on the sides of the road. No injuries and we were back on the road quickly. We kept going and then another sudden halt. The mud-guard of Sachin’s bike came off. He kept it in his back-pack and again, we were back on the road.
After that, we had to take the dirt road to reach ETT(NDA). It was my first hand experience in driving the bikes on 100% dirt roads and it was something I must say. Reminded me the dirt motorcycle videos I have seen on television, only this time it was actually me driving my mountain bike.
- PC2 – On the Dirt Road towards the Polo Ground
The dirt road continued, however the inclination and declination changed, the slopes got steeper. We just kept going, to reach the Polo Ground.
We were the sixth IT Team to reach the Polo Ground. We were elated…!!
We had to leave the bikes at the ground but take all the gear, the bag, the tools, the air-pump etc. and start a trek. Now this trek in the middle of the whole biking thing was awkward to me. This was a real tough trek, moreover we had to use a compass to get our directions right. Though for this one we got good help from the NEF Marshalls with the directions, I felt glad, and we found our way through the three check points to reach back to TC-Polo Ground.
By now it was afternoon, around 2 PM. We were terribly exhausted. And this was our first real 15 minute break. That’s the maximum amount of time we could afford, if we wanted to stick to our lead. By then, another of our Amdocs teams – Gauri’s team had caught up with us. Throughout the race thus far, we hadn’t met any of the people we knew, so meeting them was nice. Especially for the simple fact that we guys could keep track of our speed, since we had a “known” team in the race with us.
We ranked #5 in the IT category at the end of orienteering. Felt amazing…!!And even better, we were going gooood…!! We kept good speed, of course we were damn tired and had a few halts but the feeling of achievement had taken a good toll on us.
We were riding well.
And I had no clues what was coming ahead for us...
The road to the Samson junction was a good mix of some flat roads initially and some tough terrain later. The following was the route:
-Take left after the Peacock Bay Gate
-Kudje
-Jagtap Farm
-Khadakwadi
-Mandvi
-Splendour Country Club
Just as we started, it was a time for some interesting
incident. The left pedal of my bike came off, and I was like “bloody hell”.
In fact, it didn’t just come off; it broke, with the crank shaft of the pedal tearing its way through the pedal. What made me feel worse was that, I had an extra left pedal at home. I remember having the conversation with Mamta the night before the race, that whether we should carry the spare pedal. That time we decided it would be the best not to carry, because that meant extra weight.
Anyways, here I was, fixing the pedal. This was the time for the duck tape to come to the picture. And I must say, I was impressed with what we did with the pedal. We completely strapped it over and over and God knows how we did it, but did it great. When I started pedaling again, I made no efforts to be careful with it. Probably the only thing I made sure was not to stand on the broken pedal, that’s it.
While we were repairing my bike, we guys got clicked by some professional photographers. Made us feel good.
Anyways, just after a few moments of being on the road again, we had another halt. Sachin had cramps in his calves. “Volini” gel to the rescue. And in a short amount of time we were back. During this time we had few teams that overtook us. I didn’t know how many of them were from IT but we saw Gauri’s team going ahead, made the race interesting as we wanted to catch up soon.
Still, there was a long way to go. But it was not anything major to worry about at that time. The only thing we were hoping for was no major halts again.
We kept riding the bike on and on and on from there. We had kept good pace. I was again feeling good with my Octane. Adrenaline was still rushing hard and strong. I kept riding and was very comfortable but I had to keep my speed in check so that Sachin and Mamta were there in my visibility. Sachin was a bit tired because of his cramps but the good thing with Sachin is, he doesn’t complain much. And stays motivated and just keeps going. That’s something I really like about him.
We reached the Samson Junction around 4PM, where we were told to keep riding as it would get dark in some time, and we should try to cover as much distance as we could in daylight, whatever of it was left.
- PC3 – Neelkantheshwar Phata
Now the terrain to this next destination was tough, to say the least. Majority of this was down-hill. But this was a terrain I call the “PP” terrain, or the “Puncture-Prone” terrain. All throughout we kept trying we should not have a puncture. Whenever we got a “PP” road we used to get down from the bikes and drag them.
When one is going down-hill on a bike, it is difficult for all bikers to maintain the same speed. I had some good pace and control so I was going slightly ahead. Just when the first downhill slope ended I stopped and waited for Mamta and Sachin. For the next 4-5 minutes I couldn’t see them. I instantaneously knew something bad had happened.
And my fear came true. I went back around 100-200 metres, and there I saw Sachin lying on the road, injured, bleeding profusely. Mamta was dressing him with bandages and anti-septic. I joined in, and we totally taped his wounds. Stopping the bleeding was most essential, so we wiped his wounds with Savlon, and strapped them up with the bandages.
Sachin didn't have the best trip thus far, but I knew this guy was tough and that’s why he kept going.
You know at such places it is so easy to give up. All sorts of thoughts come to your mind. “what the hell am I here for?”, “ what am I going to get in the end, when throughout what I get is injuries and bruises?” . So all team members have a big responsibility, to keep each other motivated at all times. We were going well as a team, and that was the best thing so far.It was almost dark, we got our LED torches out, fixed them on the bikes with the duck tape, and we continued the ride.
It was around 7-30PM when we finally managed to reach the Kuran Fork. It was pitch dark by then. We had taken a couple of breaks on the way so did not want to take a big break.
What we were hoping for was not a long last cycling leg, and we felt relieved when the Marshalls at the TC-4 told us the last cycling check point – the Thangaon Campsite was only 18 Km. We were relieved. Our position at TC-4 was still #5 in the IT category and we wanted to maintain it.
We started from the Kuran fork. And we just kept riding and riding. The road didn’t seem to end. The terrain was extremely tough, it was around 10PM, and we were damn sure we guys had ridden for more than 20Ks.
We were damn tired by then. It was the full moon day on the 8th Feb, so the 7th Feb night was also very bright with moonlight shining upon the whole mountains. That really helped us, as the LED torches give a much focused light.
With small breaks, we kept going. Swearing all the while at the Marshalls, who told us that the leg was only 18 Km. Soon we exhausted all the water and Gatorades we had. All throughout, we found teams lying on the road sides, exhausted, thirsty, and many teamshad even decided to quit. They were cursing at the Marshalls
Along the way, we found a collegian team, who gave us some water. Now that water tasted the sweetest water ever. Sachin, in fact kept mentioning how sweet the water was throughout the journey. He got obsessed with it I must say.
Bottom-line, The Back Benchers were damn tired, but we just went on and reached the Thangaon campsite at 12:41 AM.
It was later when we realized that the leg was 41.5 Ks and not 18 Ks.We took a break for almost an hour where we had some food, chocolates, and water. Met Mamta’s brother Rajesh, who also made up the destination in good time. Not so far behind from us.
What we did not know was that probably this one hour break was something which was going to back-fire at us in the end. We had to complete the Orienteering Section -2 using compass, for the next Time Control point. And we should have taken a break only after that. Because after finishing the Orienteering the teams were allowed to take rest till 3 AM, and the post orienteering time till 3AM was not getting counted. And the one hour break we had taken before orienteering was being taken as the time to finish the Orienteering.
We started orienteering at around 1:40 AM. We had to cover 3 check points using compass to find directions with no help from the Marshalls. And this was night time. We reached the 3rd check point in good time. But when we reached there, we realized we had forgotten the TC Card at check point no.2. Sachin agreed to go back to point 2 to get it. In the mean time Mamta and I took a 10 minute break.
And this backfired on me, totally. Sachin was back in 10 minutes, and when I got up, my knee got locked. That’s what a break can do sometimes when you have climbed so much in a short amount of time. I found it so hard to walk from then on.
Somehow I managed to keep walking, with my knee paining really badly. Since we had to use a compass to get back to Thangaon we lost our way while coming back. The knee injury didn’t help the cause, and we managed to reach the bottom, Thangaon - TC 6 at around 3:40AM.
We had already deposited our bikes before the orienteering, and this was the time to take some rest. We were already late, since the flag off took place at 3 AM. And almost all the teams had already left. I was a bit disappointed, but was not feeling very bad. We decided to sleep for an hour and around 5 AM we wanted to start the trek. Around 2 hours later than the other teams. But the good thing was we were still IT team no. 5.
Still I had not seen the Roadies throughout the journey, and it worried me a bit. All I hoped for was Amar, Suraj and Deepika to be alright, more than anything else.
- The Early Bird Gets the Worm
We had planned to start the trek at 5, but in fact, we ended up getting up at 5. By then the majority of teams had left. By the time we got the gear fixed, the maps in place, got the hang of the route, and Sachin and I also had to address our injuries, it was almost 6.
We started the trek at around 6. Reached Shirkoli in good time. And heartening thing to know was we were still IT team no. 5. We couldn’t believe the good news…!!
We kept going on. We could feel the energy coming back. We met another team on the way; these guys were Anand, Santan, and Tripti. It was interesting to meet these guys, showed us an example of true commitment. They had left the campsite at 3 in the morning but had lost their TC card. And all this time they were searching for the same. I felt really bad for them. But they went on, without worrying if the NEF people would disqualify them. That was some amazing spirit.
Anyways, we too went on. My knee was paining badly, but had to keep going. I had strapped it with crepe bandage and volini gel. In some time we reached the Dangi Khind. The way to the Khind was very tricky, and to find the way at night can be a puzzle.
When we enquired about our Team’s position, to our most amazement we were Team No. 3…!! We couldn’t believe it…!!
What I thought was right; many teams lost their way at night. So leaving late, in a way turned out to be a blessing in disguise for us.
“Kehte hain na… kee jo hota hai achche ke liye hota hai…”
The way to the Pole Top was difficult and distant. But it was still not very hot, so we kept good pace.
We were not finding enough route markers along the way which made us fear that perhaps we had lost our way, but whenever we thought about that we were able to see either some route marker, or enduro flag or a red ribbon. And if not anything else, at least a chocolate wrapper . Yea… we were a bit lucky in that way. It was around 1 PM when we reached the Pole Top.
- PC-6 Kumbhatalwadi (Dhangarwadi)
We were told by the Marshalls at the Pole Top that the next terrain was going to be very tough. My sprained knee was not helping the cause, and we guys were getting tired now; we wanted this thing to end fast. But still it was a long way to go.
We had to climb down from the Pole top, and then climb another hill. From there we got new directions from the Marshall and there was more to climb. We climbed another steep hill. This leg had already taken around one and a half hours. When we reached the top we were able to see the next PC point at the bottom. But to reach the bottom seemed impossible. There were sharp rocks all over the place. What was even worse was the slope was extremely steep, and the only way to climb down was to drag our asses, and take full support of our bottoms, hands and legs. And in a sitting position, reach the base of the hill. It took us a while but we finally managed to reach the bottom, Kumbhatalwadi.
Next stop was the Jungle of Devrai. This was further down-hill from Kumbhatalwadi. Once again the fears came true. The slope was again very steep, but this time around, there were the bushes, and not the rocks. We again had to drag ourselves down, our asses had to rub against the rocks and the bushes, as we were trying to find our way to the bottom.
Just then I got a jerk in my knee, I slipped and made my way straight into the bushes. I was not wearing my sunglasses, so I feared the bushes might get into my eyes. My feet got some grip using the stems of two of such bushes. Just then Mamta helped me getting out of the whole mess, and I was back on track.
We reached the bottom, and from there we had to get into the forest. Now it was kind of pleasant to go through the jungle because we were literally sick of the mountains. So it was nice to see some grass, and trees and birds around. Thankfully didn’t see any animals.
But we had another problem; we were running out of water. We came to know two teams were just behind us. We hoped they were not from the IT category, so we increased our pace and at around 4 PM, we reached the Time Control point. There was a puddle there which had some water. We were so thirsty that we took that water, put some chlorine drops in it so that it becomes drinkable. I admire Sachin and Mamta’s guts here that were even drinking without the chlorine drops. But I had to put them in. That’s me.
- TC 9 – Thangaon (Trekking I ends)
At Devrai bottom we were told that that Thangaon was 7 Ks. I was sure the destination was more than 7 Ks, but never the less we kept walking, and around 6 PM we reached Thangaon. By now we were so damn tired, we hardly were looking for any more walking, leave alone river crossing or air rifle shooting.
- TC 10 – River Crossing and Air Rifle shooting
Sachin and I were asked to cross the river, and Mamta went for Air rifle shooting. We crossed the river, Sachin found it very refreshing. I was more worried about my knee, but even I finished. By the time we reached back to the shore, Mamta, had come back with the shooting. She told us she had missed all the 3 targets. Actually the problem here was the Sachin and Mamta should have gone for the river crossing and I should have gone for the shooting. This was a BIG problem with the Enduro people, they were making rules on the fly. They told us that only the boys can cross the river and the girl had to go for shooting. For another team they had no issues with anyone doing anything. For another team, only 1 guy was asked to cross the river. My aims are usually very accurate so I wanted to go for shooting, and Mamta is a good swimmer. So it would have been good for our team had things gone our way, but things don’t always go your way.
Anyhow, we had finished this task too, and now we had to board the ferry to Bhalawadi.
Just as we were leaving three more teams from the IT category had reached Thangaon. Out of the three one came along with us in the ferry to Bhalawadi. They became good friends with us- Rajesh, Pankaj, and Mythri - Team “Rampage”.
When we reached TC 11, we got some good news that we had to skip PC 7 (Koshimghar Top) and PC 8 (Blue meadows) and head straight for the finish TC 12 – Panshet Water Sports Center. This was such a big relief. All 3 of us had our feet completely full of blisters, probably were bleeding at a few places. But right now all we had in mind was to get over and finish this damn thing as soon as we could.
We were in terrible pain…
We were content in walking, not taking any breaks and we anyhow hardly had any food left.
Just as we were about 10 Kms to the finish line we met the other two IT teams who had quickly matched pace with us. We did not want to lose the third spot. When we met them they lied to us that they were of the open category, probably they wanted us to take it easy. But we just wanted to keep walking no matter what. We were in pain and wanted to finish it soon.
Soon we reached a point where there were 2 roads. We saw the other two teams taking a break there. They asked us to follow the wider road. May be it was foolish on our part, that we trusted them and did not analyze the route ourselves. So we took the wider road. We were not far from the finish line now, and there were no signs of the other two teams who had shown us the direction.
- FINISH – Panshet Water Sports Center
Just as we were about to reach the final Time Control point of Enduro, the feeling of achievement was getting in our bones. I could see the sparkle in all our eyes even though we could hardly recognize our faces, which had been covered by dust and mud and sweat. The moment we entered the Panshet Sports Center there was a spring in our steps. But to our horror we saw the other two teams already at the sports center getting their time registered. I told Sachin to quickly get our time registered. It was then when we realized that they were of the IT category. In the end, all we three IT teams had the time of 11:20 PM. So basically all three teams were tied at third position.
I was a bit disappointed to see that we couldn’t make it clean, but what the hell, we had made it, and that was most important. And who knew, perhaps we could have still come third. We had to wait for the results. But this was the time to enjoy the feat.
We gave a big hug to each other and cried out loud. It was a cry of achievement…!! The moment of glory for the Back-Benchers.
We had done it…!!
Frankly speaking, the feeling had not sunk in. It was a big deal. We had conquered all roads, rocks, mountains, river, and what not. Overcoming the fatigue, stress and all the non-sense, we had conquered “Enduro”.
If I say we were hungry it would be a big understatement. The sports center had a canteen and some place to sit. We had some Marshalls and some other teams taking a break there.
I wanted to jump at the food, and just “dig-in” and eat like a dog. But what the heck, all they had in vegetarian was masala rice. Sachin and Mamta enjoyed their egg bhurji. What was very tantalizing was the menu had everything from Paneer Tikka to Chilly Chikken, but what was available was only Masala Rice and Unda Bhurji.
Strange thing was that I was not feeling tired. I think it was the happiness that had taken a toll on me. We were just chit chatting and eating, when we saw Pankaj, Rajesh, and Mythri, who joined us at the finishing spot. Mamta and Sachin were tired so they just dozed off.
I kept eating with the other guys, and I was amazed to see that Pankaj and Rajesh had eaten 8 plates of Unda bhurji among themselves. Along with some masala rice too.
It was around 2-30AM when we guys decided to join Sachin and Mamta with the sleep. So we dozed off too. We got up at 6 Am. I spoke with an Army Captain who had also participated in the race. He had hired a Tempo Traveller to go back. I was glad he was more than ready to help us and drop us back to the city.
It was Monday morning, 09-Feb-2009, we reached Magarpatta around 8 AM. Bought some food from Destination Centre, and it was the time to go home. It was later in the day during the prize distribution when we realized that we had not come third, it was kinda disappointing, but never the less, we were still happy. Had some fun later in the night with Sachin, Mamta, Amar, Suraj, Deepika and Pankaj. All these guys had come over to my place, and we had a nice time with some good food and drinks.
Later in the night, even with all the pain in my whole body, I was still feeling good… real good…
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes, By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more...
--Lord Byron
